why have a vow renewal?

Sooles

not putting them down. just asking. other than for a pretty princess day (which frankly i have no problem with as long as youre honest about it not being the "wedding"), has anyone had a vow renewal for any other reason? or know someone who has?

aMrsin09

Not really vow renewals, but I have several friends who eloped for various reasons and they have thrown (or thier families threw them) blow out 1st anniversary parties.

Ciaram22

I know CS had a vow renewal so that their families could see them exchange vows. They had a quick military wedding 5 years ago so most of their family wasn't able to show up.I told DH that if we ever did a vow renewal it would have to be on a beach in a tropical place with just immediate family.

scoetto

We did one because our moms told us they felt left out of our elopement. So, we threw a party. We paid for it ourselves, we called it a vow renewal, and surprisingly we had our family fly out from the West Coast to the East Coast just to be there for it. And we got presents, which we had told people we didn't want any. We eloped on 11.22.08 and had the renewal 10.24.09 (the original wedding date). It was actually pretty rad. I loved having my family there (some that I hadn't seen in 10+ years or never even met). It was more of a family reunion with my Uncle officiating a vow renewal thrwon in the mix, but it was good regardless. I'm glad we did it.

aMrsin09

Which date do you consider your anniversary?

scoetto

When we were married - 11.22.08. That's when we're taking the anniversary tier out of the freezer and eating that sucker. 10.24.09 was the date of our party. That's it.

danieliza1127

My co-worker did it this summer.  She got married in a JOP ceremony in 2008 before her H left for Iraq.  He was gone for a year.  When he got back they had the whole shebang, big church wedding and traditional reception.  They had a blast (from talking to her and seeing pictures) and you could really see in the pics how happy they were and their families.  My understanding was that they got married before he left for certain benefits and what not, and then had the traditional stuff when he got back to share it with their families and have the big party they didn't get to have the first time.  I don't judge it really.  She was happy and excited, who am I to tell her that she's doing anything wrong?  She was always very open about the fact that they were already married.

sarabellam

My sister eloped for immigration reasons. They did a vow renewal and church ceremony almost a year later because none of her side of the family were able to see her get married. She and her husband paid for most of it, with our parents chipping in some, and celebrate their anniversary on the the day they were married by th JoP in Rhode Island.

[Deleted User]

My friend had a JoP deal a year ago and then had what she considers her wedding a week later. They wanted a ceremony that was "them", no officiant, out in a field with friends and family. This was not a legal wedding so hence the JoP. I also do not judge, it's what they wanted, I went I brought a gift, I was very happy to be there for them. I also was a witness for a registry wedding in London for a couple who married for a visa. They are having a large church vow renewal in a year. They only had to say 2 lines each were not really what I think of as vows. I also did not have a problem with this event. I think there is a difference between a legal and spiritual union. Also the cost of a wedding, mine for sure, is often WAY more then the value of gifts received. So I don't get that argument.

missy68

How about this: A JoP ceremony in Vegas, followed ONE MONTH later by a vow renewal on the beach with 1 set of friends in attendance. For the pictures. The friends did the same thing. Got married at the same time - literally. It would have been just as easy to get married on the beach in Florida as in Vegas. Yep, new SIL just did this. JoP'd it the day before we got married in Las Vegas, and had already planned the Florida trip with the vow renewals.

scoetto

Well daymn, Missy. I though 11 mos was early for a vowel renewal. Guess you SIL beat me to it. That makes me feel better.

TurtlesAllTheWayDown

Sco, out of curiosity, what was your reason for JOPing? Just more private?I guess if someone plans to have a vow renewal from the time they get married, I don't totally see the point in JOPing myself. It's not like it's saving money if you're just having a renewal later anyway. But if one of my friends had a renewal and called it a renewal/party, and didn't lie about it being their "real wedding" I would be totally happy for them, show up, bring a gift, whatever.

missy68

Oh, it irritates me. We spent 3 hours waiting for them to get their paperwork and for the JoP to be her witnesses, when DH and I could have been spending time a) together, b) him meeting my aunt and uncle for the first time c) having dinner with my brother and SIL before Phantom of the Opera, instead of dressing in 5 minutes and flying down to the Venetian to barely make it in time.She sprung that one on us the night before, but had been planning it for 2 weeks apparently.I will say, she did keep it pretty quiet the next day, during our wedding. I appreciated that.

scoetto

We had some things happen and we decided to JOP it. J has had 2 major spinal surgeries in the past year and is up for another one. Custody battles for his son. Possible job layoff for me (which happened the week before the vow renewal). There are other things but those are good for now.